Judy Black Reflects on Her Storied Pest Control Career
Black, vice president of quality assurance and the entomology department at Rollins, is retiring on Aug. 30. She looks back on her career and changes she's observed since entering the industry in 1987.
ATLANTA – Judy Black, vice president of quality assurance and the entomology department at Rollins, is retiring after a storied career. Her last day is Aug. 30.
Black, 62, said she felt like she had accomplished everything she set out to achieve in her career “and I didn't want to hold back younger teammates from advancing. I wanted to make way for new opportunities for them.” In her current role, Black oversees Rollins’ entomology department (Glen Ramsey); Rollins’ quality assurance department (Ray Quesenberry and Dan Moran), and Rollins’ termite claims department (Quesenberry). “I think we’ve been able to develop a great team here that's going to just pick up where I left off,” she said. “They'll be fine and will keep continuously improving.” Also factoring into Black’s decision was the passing of several industry colleagues in recent years.
Judy Black was a service manager in the 1990sBlack’s pest control career dates to 1987 when she took a job working for Terminix in Pittsburgh. “What brought me to the pest control industry was a recession,” Black recalled. “I was selling lamps at a department store with my master's degree in entomology, so I thought I would give it a shot. I ended up loving it. What’s kept me in the pest management industry were the people I’ve worked with.”
Black has had the unique perspective of working – both in the field and in the office - for four of the largest pest control companies in the industry: Terminix, Steritech, Rentokil and Rollins. She recalled, “Terminix taught me a lot about how to conduct myself in a business situation - I was 24 when I started there. I was at Steritech for 22 years and it was fun because we were building something great and doing it collaboratively. Being at Rentokil really opened my eyes to the global business. And now at Rollins, (CEO) Jerry Gahlhoff has this really creative vision for Rollins being a family of brands working collaboratively, but also operating mostly autonomously. It’s an exciting time to be at Rollins.”
Judy Black (far left) with Steritech colleagues (l to r) Hank Palmer, Mike McGuinness, Doug Hutchinson and Alan Witlesbach, in the mid '90s.Black has observed numerous pest control industry changes the last 37 years, including improved termiticides and the advent of cockroach gel baits. During the bed bug resurgence of the early 2000s, Black was instrumental in Steritech developing a bed bug heat chamber and she helped the company establish nationwide service protocols.
Judy Black hiking in ColoradoIn reflecting on her career, Black said what helped her succeed was embracing challenges and excelling in roles she never expected to take on, such as becoming a service manager or branch manager or managing offices in multiple states. “But what I'm most proud of are the people who’ve worked for me – whether here at Rollins or spread throughout the country – that are out there doing bigger and better things than even I could imagine doing myself,” Black said.
Black added that in retirement she is looking forward to spending more time with husband John (also retired) and pursuing hobbies like fishing, swimming, hiking, running and cycling.
